Our Approach

MISSION

The Yale Center for Engineering Innovation and Design empowers its members to improve human lives through the advancement of technology. We aspire to launch high-impact projects and develop visionary leaders. We do so by bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and giving them resources to learn, create, and share.

MENTALITY

WHAT ARE ENGINEERING, INNOVATION, AND DESIGN?

In our view, engineering, innovation, and design are three approaches toward the same goal: the advancement of humanity. At the Center, we believe the best solutions come from a merger of these three perspectives.Engineering, innovation, and design come together to form a robust approach. When technical prowess meets human sensitivity and a desire to improve lives, we create functional solutions to meaningful problems.

Engineering

The application of scientific and technical knowledge to create functional materials, devices, and systems. This is what engineers are classically trained to do.

Innovation

Changing the way people live their lives through new products and services. This is the realm of social and commercial entrepreneurship.

Design

The creation of physical things or experiences based on an understanding of the human as user. The arts and social sciences also play a vital role.

VALUES

HOW DO WE ENGINEER, INNOVATE, AND DESIGN?

To achieve our Mission, the Center focuses its resources on activities that reflect our core values:

Purpose

Projects are most meaningful when they can help build a better future. We seek to identify true human needs and design sustainable solutions for tangible impact. For example, a team of students has created an intuitive cancer-screening device.

Diversity

A mix of skills and perspectives is vital to identifying, defining, and solving the right problems. We welcome all kinds of thinkers and doers who want to work as teams and learn from each other. For example, our most recent appropriate technology course drew upwards of ten different majors.

Creativity

Novel solutions come from freethinking minds. We want to create beyond the boundaries of convention. For example, a recent senior project has developed into an original cardboard furniture company.

Integrity

Imaginative solutions need to function in the real world. We aspire to deliver well-crafted and user-verified prototypes that come from a rigorous design process. For example, a graduate student spent time this summer testing analytical devices for wind turbines on the ground in Kenya.